FILE -- In this Sept. 27 2012 file photo, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi attends the presentation of a book in Rome. On Wednesday July 10, 2013 Italy's highest court defended its decision to move Silvio Berlusconi's tax fraud appeal to the front of the line, saying it had to move quickly because the statute of limitations was about to expire, on Aug.1. Berlusconi's allies have threatened to paralyze parliament to protest the decision by the Court of Cassation to schedule the hearing July 30. Berlusconi risks being barred from holding public office for five years if his conviction is upheld. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, files)